The Spirit World Chronicles: Every Transition is Unique – Part 3/4

Sigwart, an artist who died in World War one, tells us that the last, painful moment of his earthly life was replaced with infinite peace, calm, and healing.

“The last minute was terrible, but only for a moment and then it passed, which means the sleep of death relieved me of all pain.” (1)

The ‘sleep of death’ was able to release Sigwart from the potentially gruesome circumstances surrounding his death, and a tremendous weight was lifted off of him that saw him able to experience the joys the other side has to offer.

Sigwart’s transition might’ve been another instance of someone choosing to rest for a while after they cross over, and anyone who experienced a particularly busy life or a particularly violent death are able to rest for as long as they need before they greet what comes next.

Going from pain and violence to infinite clam must be wonderfully soothing, and luckily, the higher qualities we glimpse at death are unflinching aspects of the afterlife and will be endlessly felt and experienced.

According to Arthur Ford, every soul responds to the universal pull to move on when the body’s ready to die.

“Death is no more than the passage through a beckoning door. It is so brief, so transitory as scarcely to be noted for it is what lies beyond the door that counts. The body, let us say, is tired and weakened.

At a certain point the heart stops, not merely because the body mechanism will not function, but also because the soul has slipped off through the opening door. Some go gladly, some reluctantly, but all in answer to the universal urge for peace and tranquility.” (2)

It’s probably easy to leave a place like the earth for the wonderful states of consciousness that exist beyond, and I’m sure the peaceful and tranquil pull that gently draws the recently deceased out of their bodies is embraced by a lot of seekers who understand what death is really like.

Even a moment of infinite etheric peace would be wonderful, and I can only imagine what it’s like to leave the heaviness of the body behind and bask in the gentle lightness of the liberated etheric body. This body, being a gentle yet infallible form of energy, is weightless and obviously much freer to move about than the physical body.

Joy Snell tells us about the first physical death she witnessed from the spirit realms.

“It was the first death that I had witnessed. Immediately after her heart had ceased to beat, I distinctly saw something in appearance like smoke, or steam as it rises from a kettle in which the water is boiling, ascend from her body. This emanation rose only a little distance and there resolved itself into a form like that of my friend who had just died.” (3)

Initially, death seems to be a graceful release of the energy; the essence of the person who inhabited the body. The etheric body resumes its shape quickly after being released from the physical, and perhaps this is when the departed become conscious in the spirit realms.

Joy continues, telling us that her friend’s etheric form gradually changed to include a white robe.

“This form, shadowy at first, gradually changed until it became well defined and clad in a pearly-white, cloud-like robe, beneath which the outlines of the figure were distinctly visible. The face was that of my friend but glorified, with no trace upon it of the spasm of pain which had seized her just before she died.” (4)

Her friend must’ve felt the immense bliss that comes with being released from the physical body and into the ecstatic spirit realms, and even if we experience the worst pain as we pass on, it all disappears once we’re out of the body.

Just like Sigwart, Joy Snell’s friend was able to depart into bliss after experiencing intense agony. Pain is completely lifted at the time of death, because we’re freed from the temple that enables us to exist in a state of consciousness that’s dense enough to accommodate it.

In Joy’s experience, every transition, however physically painful, entails the etheric body peacefully rising out of the physical.

“Whether the deaths I witnessed were peaceful or painful, preceded or not preceded by the recognition of someone from the other world, always, immediately after the physical life had ceased, I saw the spirit form take shape above the dead body, in appearance a glorified replica of it.” (5)

Our vibration rises when we leave the physical body, and because of this, we’re able to take on a beautiful etheric form. For those of us who are aware, it might be pretty easy to discern what’s happened if we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by departed family and wearing a white robe.

The release of death enables one to express themselves in a much more beautiful form, and our true essence, having been set free, is able to take whatever shape best suits it.

As Joy tells us, there’s an immense contrast between the physical body that dies painfully and the etheric body that’s liberated from the pain.

“However painful might have been the last hours, however protracted and wasting the illness, no trace of suffering or disease appeared upon the radiant spirit face. Striking, at times, was the contrast which it presented to the human features, pain-distorted and deep-furrowed by suffering.” (6)

Freedom from the physical body enables the disappearance of all pain, stress, and fear, and one’s able to enjoy a blissful state of consciousness that most people can’t touch here on earth. Most of us haven’t been able to reach such a level of bliss because we’ve been unaware of the realms beyond and our ability to access them.

According to Mary Bosworth, death doesn’t need to be the fearful atrocity we’ve made it into, especially for those who live basically good lives.

“There is no darkness for us as we watch our loved ones coming across the little dividing line. We think that the close of life should be lifted out of its sorrow and fear and regarded only as a peaceful sleep, with a blessed and bright awakening. This of course refers to those who have cultivated their spirit life when on earth.” (7)

We create our fate, and the choices we make in this life determine what we’ll experience when we move on. As we’ll learn below, some people experience a decidedly worse state of consciousness after death because of their actions in life.

Mary continues: “Death may indeed be a darkened path for those who have no fitness for this life – and yet it is not the death, but the awakening which is so dreary and oftentimes terrible for those whose lives have not been just or merciful or spiritual.” (8)

Awakening to spirit could be pretty difficult for someone who’s been lost in the darkness of the earth all their lives, and by the natural law of karma, we’re intended to fully understand the significance of the things we’ve done in our lives once we pass on.

Infinite etheric records are believed to exist that hold everything that’s ever been done, and these records will remind us of our earthly choices in the realms beyond. There’s an incredible significance to everything we do, and we’ll understand this when we’re finished with the lower vibrations.

Concluded in Part 4 tomorrow.

Footnotes:

(1) Joseph Wetzl, trans., The Bridge Over the River. Communications from the Life After Death of a Young Artist Who Died in World War one. Spring Valley: Anthroposophic Press, 1974, 10.